"Unjustly Targeted, BJP Notice Is Demoralising": Jayant Sinha

BJP MP Jayant Sinha, who was asked by the party to show cause for not taking part in campaigning, on Thursday said he was being "unjustly targeted" and the public notice amounted to demoralising dedicated workers like him.

Replying to the show cause notice, Mr Sinha said it was issued to him even though he had, on March 2, communicated to BJP president JP Nadda that he would not be able to shoulder electoral responsibilities as he would focus on combating issues arising from global climate change.

The Hazaribagh MP also said it was wrong for the party to allege that he did not cast his vote on May 20, since he had exercised his franchise through postal ballot and was not in the country on the polling day. "Given my contributions to the party and the circumstances, the public issuance of your letter is unseemly. Your approach demoralizes dedicated party workers and undermines the party's collective efforts. Additionally, despite my loyalty and hard work for the party, it appears that I am being unjustly targeted," the former Union minister replied on the show cause notice via a post on X.

The BJP on Monday had slapped the notice on Mr Sinha for not taking part in campaigning after Manish Jaiswal was declared candidate from the Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat, thereby "maligning" the party's image.

"We could have certainly spoken in person or on the phone at any time to address any of your misgivings. As the party official responsible for the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha elections, you could have reached me at any time. To send me a letter after the elections are over is incomprehensible," Mr Sinha said.

The MP is the son of former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha.

"I left India on 10 May 2024 to attend to some pressing personal commitments overseas. The party had not asked me to participate in any events, so I saw no reason to stay. Before leaving India, I sent my vote through the postal ballot process. Therefore, it is wrong for you to allege that I did not exercise my responsibility to vote," Jayant Sinha said.

In the notice to him, BJP state general secretary Aditya Sahu had said, "You are not taking any interest in organisational work and election campaigning ever since the party declared Manish Jaiswal as the candidate from Hazaribag LS seat. You did not even feel proper to exercise your right of franchise. The party's image has been maligned due to your conduct."

The party sought an explanation from Mr Sinha within two days, following instructions from state BJP president and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi.

Hours before the announcement that Mr Jaiswal would be the candidate for Hazaribagh, Sinha had requested party leadership to relieve him from electoral politics.

In a post on X on March 2, the MP said he would continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues and wanted to focus his efforts on "combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world".

Hazaribagh, a high-profile urban constituency in Jharkhand, was also represented by Yashwant Sinha.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)